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All,Tidings of the season to all Belsize men, women and all your families.

2015 has brought highs and lows. Another successful end to last season, and more silverware and promotions for some of the league sides, with the others knocking on the door of the same. In the current season, the run of form, which is now 4 or 5 years old, continues and all league teams are performing strongly. The Bulls continue be a force on the London rugby social scene. April 2016 therefore promises to be a very big month for us, as long as we remain committed to the greater glory of Belsize.

As always there have been new recruits and several departures, none more so than Ben Keogh, who has gone to the great tour in the sky. Hopefully Gandalf and others are having as much fun as the tourists to Barbados, our first trip across the Atlantic for several years. We were also visited by old friends who returned to London to watch the World Cup, including in our new home at the White Mustache. Perhaps the greatest achievement of 2015 is that the World Cup didn’t prove to be the destruction of the club’s playing activities it has been in years past, and was a sign of our current position as central London’s top amateur club.

We have always considered that as our territory, but with 5 regular sides all performing well, several hundred members all contributing to the club’s general well being, and our touring and social reputation it cannot reasonably be argued by any of our competitors. We are regularly asked how we are doing it, especially when rugby clubs have been struggling in recent years. To me the answer is simple. A rugby club is a lot more than people playing rugby. It ought to be a community and if anyone spends 10 minutes looking at phone or email contacts, or friends on Facebook you’ll find that this is the biggest community you are part of.

Thank you all for your service to Belsize and each other, in whatever form, in 2015.